The effectiveness of stripe rust resistance gene YR18 in wheat cultivars

Abstract

The wheat gene Yr18 conditions adult plant resistance to stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis) of wheat. Two field experiments in the 1996/97 growing season, and one experiment in 1997/98, were carried out to determine the effectiveness of this gene by comparing a range of cultivars with or without Yr18. The cultivars were ranked in order of the value of area under disease progress curves (AUDPC). Cultivars possessing Yr18 had lower AUDPCs than those without the gene, but substantial disease epidemics occurred under heavy inoculum, suggesting Yr18 should not be used in isolation in disease control strategies based on disease resistance.